Slow Fashion, Personal Style & Sewing

Closet Goals

I read a variety of style blogs that run the gamut from extreme minimalism to careless over consumption and now that I’ve declared this space a personal style blog, I thought I’d share where I stand on this spectrum…or at least just talk to myself about my current thoughts on the subject. Over the years, I’ve been influenced by it all and gone from too much shopping, not enough planning, closet full of nothing to wear to restricting shopping, excessive planning and a tiny closet that started to wear out and bore me way too quickly. At this point, every time I flip to this image in my inspiration notebook, all I can think is closet goals!

There are a lot of pieces in there. When the heck do you use ALL of those bags?! But you know what? To me, it looks like a closet filled with special items collected over time that are truly cherished, well cared for and loved. I imagine it belongs to a woman with a strong sense of her own style, who sees dressing as an art and has fun choosing an outfit each day.

As I sew, dig through charity stores and shop for vintage, these are my goals.

I’m dedicated to an ethical wardrobe and learning more about sustainability every day. I’m on board with slowly and thoughtfully adding new things. But minimal? I don’t really think so. I just love clothes, fashion design and the thrill of the hunt! Digging through the large donation thrift shops and finding that vintage treasure someone cleared out of an attic, 100% silk, wool, or cashmere on the cheap, testing out a trend I’m not sure about for $3 …yes, please! Continuing to queue up sewing projects because I enjoy learning new skills and creating things? Of course.

The idea of capsule wardrobes is helping me work out the colors and pieces that make up my personal list of essentials, giving me a more solid foundation to build upon but I’m approaching the sweet spot where I can just add things I love while keeping it functional. In my climate, most of my clothes can be used year round so, with a few exceptions, packing away seasonal clothes isn’t necessary. I love an eclectic mix of things I find beautiful to combine in all different ways accessible in my closet at all times. Based on how quickly I got tired of my very minimal closet, I think it will be perfect to have enough items that it takes 3 or 4 weeks to cycle through all my favorites so they last longer and I don’t burn out on wearing them.

A while back, I would have talked myself out of this clutch because it’s not something I’ll use every day. Now I’m okay with owning something special for date nights, even if I only get to use it twice a month. I’d had the idea of what I wanted in my mind for a while, so when I spotted it in a vintage shop (although, is 90’s vintage? I was in high school in the 90’s…doesn’t add up!) on vacation for $12 I felt good about taking it home. Okay, I actually walked away and had a beer down the street because it was navy and not black, but then I decided I still loved it and went back for it. Thoughtful and spontaneous!

All my chatter has me curious to hear from you. How often do you feel you should wear something for it to earn it’s space in your wardrobe? Every month? Every week? What are your thoughts on owning more than necessary if everything is mostly second hand or handmade and the rest ethical? My perspective has been all over the map the last few years but for the moment it’s a relief to loosen up the reigns. I’m hoping I’ve learned enough that I can just enjoy wardrobe building for the fun creative process it can be without falling back into old patterns and making lots of mistakes. And I suppose I can go easy on myself if I thrift something that isn’t for life…back to the thrift shop it can go right?